The Twilight star has signed on for Olivier Assayas' forthcoming film, reported The Tracking Board.

"I'm working with Assayas in November, which is crazy. It's called Idol's Eye, it's a gangster movie. It's the true story about some thieves who rob a porn store without realising it's a Mafia front in the late 70s," he told French network Le Nouvel Observateur.

"I just finished reading the script and it's incredible. I met Assayas two years ago in New York, and I've been attached to this for ages, but it suddenly became real three months ago," the actor added.

Previously titled Hubris, Idol's Eye is based on the story of the men who mistakenly robbed Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo in his home in 1978. It was published in Playboy in 2007.

Olivier previously told The Hollywood Reporter the film would be his first US production.

"My next film will be in the US. We are shooting in Chicago and it's a genre movie based on a real story, called Idol's Eye, the name of a famous diamond," he said.

Robert, who was at the Cannes Film Festival to promote David Cronenberg's Maps To The Stars and The Rover, has a number of real-life roles coming up.

He next stars as TE Lawrence in Werner Herzog's drama Queen Of The Desert alongside James Franco and Nicole Kidman and portrays photographer Dennis Stock in Anton Corbijn's drama Life, opposite Dane DeHaan as James Dean.

The 28-year-old, best known for playing vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight films, is also attached to Brady Corbet's directorial debut, The Childhood Of A Leader, alongside Tim Roth and Juliet Binoche. He will also appear in James Gray's The Lost City Of Z with Benedict Cumberbatch.